DocBauer

You know, there is a completely different dichotomy of opinion concerning the Twins ownership. Some of that is the simple fact that we are all simply different people with different attitudes, thoughts, etc. And some of it stems from geography. I was born and raised initially in Brokings South Dakota, Twins country to be sure, and not all tnat far from the Minnesota border, but have lived most of my days in central Nebraska, (Kearney), and Omaha. As I have previously stated, I'm 50, and have been following the Twins since I was 5 yo on transistor and car radios, cable TV at grandma's house, reading the Tribune, every other baseball publication I could get my hands on, and in more recent years, obviously, the internet. Decades of winning and losing, tons of players, different owners, a variety of different managers, I've kind of seen it all. But I never lived in the Twin Cities, much less Minnesota. And I'm sure actually living in either must offer different perspectives, through public sharing and various media outlets, that I am not, and have never been, privy to. I believe Carl Pohlad loved the Twins. I think he and his management group absolutely did the best they could to put a competitive team on the field. And in truth, despite some really hard times, they had winning seasons, made moves, and won 2 World Series. There is NO WAY I could hope to comprehend what it is like to be a billionaire, or part of a family that is. Frankly, it goes way beyond any of my personal "win the lottery and be set for life and what would I do and how would I live" fantasies. I think it's safe to say that is true for all of us. But despite this, simple perspective, even against such an outlandish and outrageous world of professional sports, I've never begrudged the Twins still being run as a business. Yes, I have questioned payroll and the such in my days, but despite the incredible gap in perspective, I still never felt it was the Pohlad's obligation to spend "out of personal pocket" to make the Twins better. I've always felt it OK, smart and prudent to work within an intelligent means to run a model franchise. (At times they've done this). The world has turned. Baseball has changed. Target Field brought about change for the organization as well, though Minnesota will still never be the market that NY, Chicago, LA, etc has and will be. Carl cared. I don't know if Jim has the same passion or not. Again, different perspectives. But, if Jim cares, or is simply a business man attempting to run a successful franchise in his father's name, the end result is still the same: win, make money, and be successful. The greater the success, the more ego fulfilling and wallet filling. Either way, unless Jim honestly doesn't give a crap, he'd want success, yes? We can debate all we want to about the drives of ownership. We can debate at length about 4 consecutive losing seasons, (still small in the context of many, many teams including the WS winning Royals), and how the first couple of those seasons played out in regard to responsibility vs disappointment. But public opinion, money, butts in the seat and profitability matter regardless of ownership's motives. At this time, despite a fun 2015 season, despite regression in 2016, the future of the franchise is in question. And again, if their truly is no caring, things could be tough. But whether Jim has a passion for baseball, or merely the bottom line, any kind of decent businessman would realize change of some sort is important. There simply isn't any clear cut, obvious choice to be a successor to Ryan. Further, no matter his success in rebuilding the milb system, something is still missing. I don't think it would be a stretch at alL to see the Twins go outside the organization to find new blood, the way Carl did so many years ago. Now, to me, the issue would be the who that is. I'm on a soapbox here I know. It's just a perspective that I thought should be examined.

Some very interesting ideas. I would not be surprised at all with Ryan stepping down/retiring. This is his second term, the losing has to wear, he's had health issues previously, and no insult, but he's get older as well. Part of me says pride would make him stay another year in an attempt to further the team along, see more of his coveted prospects reach the majors, and leave with a feeling of satisfaction. On the other hand, there are all the factors I've already listed above, and a sense that no matter what, with all the proslects, (struggling this season or not), at the ML ,evel, in AAA, AA and below, he could walk away feeling he's done what he truly set out to do: rebuild the farm system and leave the organization in a better place than when he came back, with a brighter future. His legacy would be all this upcoming and arriving young talent. I wonder, what wouled make him more likely to walk away; the team continuing a poor season/record, or, a better second half filled with more young talent getting their shot and moving up closer in the milb ranks?

To quote Sherman T Potter: "Horsehockey!" I have always held a somewhat grudging respect for baseball and it's various "unwritten rules". I believe the true appeal and greatness of sport is the competition and the strive to win. I believe and respect in leaving it all on the field. In the competition lies the true greatness. And while I sometimes think baseball gets a little higher and mighty in those unwritten rules...I mean come on, a huge SO or HR or game winning hit deserves a fist pump or bat flip doesn't it?...I also respect, in any sport, competition and success with some level of quality and class. If you score a TD in football, spike the ball if you will, hug and high 5 your teammates, but cool it at that. Wasn't your intent to score? Then act like you expected it, have done it before, and expect/intend to do it again. And screw a sack dance or 1st down wave when your team is getting blown out 35-10. Unless I got completely confused today when watching debate and examples on ESPN today as this issue was being discussed...please tell me if I'm mistaken...a highlite was shown of a game in which Odor slid way left and wide of 2nd base in a game and spiked the opposing player in the calf. Bautista may not be well liked, and have a reputation, but what's good for the Goose is also good for the gander. (OMG does that line make me sound old) Regardless, you NEVER try to hurt another player. I don't care if it's deliberately targeting a knee, taking a stick to someone's face, sliding with metal spikes in to somebody's body, or throwing a 90 FB at someone's head. That is bush, cheap, extremely non sportsman like, and borderline assault.

You know, it's funny to me when I read this because about a year, or so, ago I wrote a piece that was partially tongue-in-cheek but more than half serious, about the demise of the Twins winning teams after the departure of Hunter. Mostly, it detailed how his loss to the Angels in FA created a chain reaction to various moves made by the Twins to compensate and replace him in the lineup and field. Actually, patting myself on the back, some of my arguements held some validity. But it was never about his locker room presence. I have a very hard time believing a lack of Hunter's presence is causing the downfal, of the 2016 Twins, mostly because the 2015 Twins, in truth, we're about a .500 team with the exception of the month of May. Still, who wouldn't take a .500 club at this point? BUT, I do think your arguement does have some validity to it, whether it is a "Hunter" factor or not. I do believe the construction of a team is more than just pure physical talent and coaching. Sometimes, thereally is a chemistry and/or attitude factor than can make a difference. Sometimes it is a work ethic created to get guys to go the extra mile. Sometimes it's as simple as keeping guys loose game to game so they don't too wrapped up in W-L records and maintain an even keel approach. I will neither exalt nor demean Hunter's presence on the 2015 team, nor his lack of presence on this year's team. But when you stop for a moment to examine the Twins WS teams and additional winning/playoff teams, there did seem to be a strong head man in charge, Kelly and Gardy, and guys on the team that had a sense of of bulldog, competitiveness and leadership in them. I'm just not sure this team has that right now. I don't know if it's Molitor, the players themselves, or poor roster construction, but there seems to be an "it" factor missing that gives a competitive team an edge.

Who is this guy? Like most fans, I was more than a little put out when our proposed #3 catcher, Hicks, was lost on a waiver wire snafu of ridiculous proportion when the team attempted to sneak him through waivers to make way for an over the hill role OG in Murphy who was struggling at AAA and didn't want to play any more. (Sigh) Maybe I missed something, but while the original Hicks signing got some publicity as a solid move for a guy who had a little potential, it seemed Centeno got nothing more than a mention as a milb FA given an invite to ST. With Hicks lost, Suzuki on his last legs and Murphy on milk cartons all throughout Minnesota, Centeno was brought up. And the really funny thing is, he's hit in the SSS after his promotion. He also started in a few games with quality pitching performances, including Duffey's great performance on Sunday. So I decided to attempt a little research on him. What did I find? Unfortunately, not much. He's not a very large fellow, 5' 9", he hits lefty, and he was originally, I believe, a 32nd round pick from Puerto Rico by the Mets. He never ranked higher than 20 on any prospect list I could come across. And with all due respects to informed fans and bloggers everywhere, most of his prospect/scouting reports were from fan sights. However, what I did find was that after three poor, non description seasons in rookie ball and low A, he suddenly seemed to find his bat somewhat. While lacking any real power, according to milb.com, his career numbers would be a .260 AVG with a .313 OB%. He's been times between 1.85 and 2.0 on his throws to 2B, with sound footwork, and multiple years where he has tossed out high 30 to 40% of attempted stolen base thieves, all the while, garnering attention for solid work behind the plate. I would not dare to say the Twins have found some sort of steaL in their signing of Centeno. But with the perfectly poor production the Twins have received the past couple of years, particularly this season, with Turner, Garver and other hopefulls a year away, at least, and work to be done this next off season, if not this year still, is it possible the Twins have at least found a short-term, fill-in, backup option? Centeno has a quality catch and throw reputation, can at least make some contact and not SO at an alarming rate...or so it seems...and is still only 26 despite being around for 10 years. I would love to hear if anyone has more detailed information available on him. But again, no steal, but did we maybe accidently end up with someone who can at least help?

Late the party here as I clicked on the radio to hear Berrios was gone after 2/3 of an inning and the Twins were down a couple runs. (Cough) I immediately turned the station after a few choice adult words. I decided to check the scoreboard, as there is definitely a masochistic part of me, to see how bad t really was, and to see if, at the very least, SOMEONE had done something good tonight. I tuned in just in time to see Park score the 8th Twins run to tie the game. A couple points: * I like the lineup construction better tonight, though I have a hard time not seeing Polanco back in the lineup tonight. * Hats off to the team for not giving up and fighting back. * Dean...WOW...that was actually a quality performance from a rookie in a tough situation. But I would like to apologize to everyone out there in Twins land ands my tuning in to watch the remainder of the game obviously resulted in the pair of solo HR that will inevitably lose the game for us. I'm sorry. A final note, was the umpiring that bad the entire game?

Disconcerting to say the least. But is a very long season. Slumps happen for everyone at different times. I think it would be a big mistake to panic at this point. Really, we're talking about a bad couple of weeks. That isn't much in the great scheme of a season. Frankly, I'd be more worried if he had two great weeks to start the season and then slumped to these kind of numbers for the past four weeks. But it doesn't escape notice, after the past couple of down and disappointing seasons, that April's hope could be an abberation. Still, we need a longer sample size before we panic or announce such.

And it should have happened to close out the 2015 season! He had a quality year last year, is solid, but never had a chance to show what he could do. And after all, isn't this an organization that tries to take care of "good guys" and organizational guys? He's overdo for his shot!

As would I. However, missing a couple days with the shoulder fatigue and the way he sat on the bench in Minnesota before getting a short night in his start, (after the Twins announced there was no pitch limit on him), I'd rather see him get a few starts in Rochester and get in a groove again and then come up.

Good for Herrmann. He was a guy I always had high hopes for. No telling how good he could have been, but I always thought he was hurt by riding that Rochester - Twins train too often. There needs to be some serious pitching prospect promotions come June 1st, if not earlier.

GUILTY! But I really do like this group, overall, excluding the 5th spot and a true #1.

OK, the Twins have now won 2 in a row and reached the 10 win mark. I guess that's something to be happy about. But with all the negativity surrounding this season, and all the various threads and discussions as to who should be fired, how to fix the Twins, etc, I felt it would be a nice change of pace to examine something more fun and optomistic. And to me, that is the 2018 season. Why pick this year, two years from now? The reason is pretty simple really. Forgetting all the debates and angst of who to trade or dump, etc., most contracts that draw all the various discussions and debates will be done, or almost done, regardless of what the Twins FO does for the remainder of 2016. It will also be, if I'm not mistaken, Mauer's last season, barring an early retirement announcement for whatever reason. Further, considering the balance of the 2016 season still in play, young talents like Buxton, Sano, Kepler, Polanco, Berrios, etc, etc, should be established to one degree or another this season and next. Also, there are some guys like Walker already at AAA, and guys like Turner and Garver that should reach AAA in 2017 if not sooner, this also includes additional RP arms. Young talents like Gonsalves and Stewart should be at AA fairly soon THIS year. Gordon could be there later this year, potentially, and surely by 2017. There are many ways to build a team, of course, and many factors. Do you sacrifice defense for offense somewhere, or vice versa? How does your RH and LH batting order stack up? Speed vs power at a position? Is your bench based on hitting/power, or speed-defense-versatility? Part of my problem in building the perfect team is I always end up at a 26 man roster. I always end up with 5 OF, 2 utility guys, an extra bat, and 13 pitchers. Oh well, pretend GM's license I guess. You don't HAVE to keep your roster to exclusively current Twins players and milb talent, but outside additions are hard to predict. But put on your GM cap, play along, and tell us all what your ideal 2018 roster looks like. ME: OF: Rosario, Buxton, Kepler with Walker and Arcia/Palka. No true 4th OF, but I'm looking at bench bats, Mauer about done, and I have 3 guys starting who can play all over the OF. INF: Sano, Gordon as a rookie, Polanco, Mauer/Park, Escobar and Santana. This one is hard. I'm banking on Gordon spending this year and next between AA and AAA and getting the gig at SS as a rookie in 2018. While some may not like it, I could see Nunez still around on the bench if the Twins hold Gordon back initially. C: Garver and Turner. Murphy could sneak in here, and his poor start to this season is not why he's exclued. I just have a strong feeling about Garver and Turner. My gut says Garver ends up being the better overall player and Turner is a better version of Butera. And that's not a bad thing! SP: Santana, Gibson, Berrios, Duffey and Gonsalves. I want Meyer in here, but my gut says Gonsalves is ready, Meyer is still in a bit of limbo land until we see more of him in 2016. He could replace Santana. Stewart is close, but Gonsalves is ahead of him. RP: May, Chargois, Burdi, one of Tonkin/Pressly, Melotakis, Williams. This could go a few ways, obviously, depending on Meyer as a SP and Rogers could sneak in here. But I really like Melotakis and think Williams is flying under the radar. Again, a 26 man roster, but I'm granting myself a 1 player exemption for now.

My intention here is a hopeful and positive spin on the Twins rotation, not another FO or Molitor bash. I really think there are some positive things to examine at this point in regard to the Twins rotation going forward, and I felt it was time to look and reflect on the rotation going forward. Santana is not an ACE pitcher, though he has had a few seasons in which he has pitched like one. What he has done, however, is carve out a very solid and reliable career as a SP, almost exclusively in the AL, which has always proved to be the better hitting league. Once back with the Twins in 2015, after his suspension, he was solid initially, fell in to a poor run for a time, then finished very strong. Healthy again now, and hopefully for the rest of the season, he pitched a very nice game on Saturday to get the win. Going forward, he should be solid, reliable, and a veteran stalwart. We could still argue Duffey is in the SSS category, but except for his first start in 2015, he was good to outstanding the rest of the way. For whatever reason, his ST simply didn't go well and he began the season at Rochester. After a couple quality outings there, he was brought quickly back up and seems to have picked up right where he left off, including a masterful performance today to get the Twins their 10th win of the season. WHOO HOO! What makes him so interesting is he was never regarded as a top prospect, but if you look at his milb numbers/seasons, he showed real development and seeming constant improvement. Further, while a solid change could make him even more effective, there seems to be a fallacy that he s only a 2 pitch pitcher. There is another thread on TD with some quality links that delve in to this myth, but in short, he throws 2 very different fastballs, where he will smartly change speeds, and each has a different action. More, he throws a slower, more traditional curve, and a more powerful version that has more of a slider actio. Berrios has proven all he really can at the milb level. He is not a finished ML pitcher by any means, but he has the stuff and the move to be very good. He is still learning on the job, still having some rough patches, but has looked solid and filled with potential. He has even drawn raves from various persons watching/announcing his games. Demoting him for any reason other than just a series of poor performances, at this point, would be illogical, short-sighted and reprehensible. I just don't think it's going to happen. And it shouldnt. He's only going to get better. That's three. Three spots out of five. Who's next? It absolutely has to be Gibson. Look, I get that his 2016 got off to a rough start. (So has most of the team!) And because he's not 24 or 25 some want to downgrade him and his future potential. And really, we're not entirely sure what has caused his poor start: bad luck, a poor early feel, trying too hard, or battling the injury that has temporarily shelved him. But as a player/prospect, you almost have to downgrade his age simply due to his TJ surgery. What's more, his milb 2013 comeback was pretty outstanding. His promotion didn't go so well, but give the guy a break as a result. His 2014 was solid, at times very good, and he really was a rookie, save something like a 1/3 of an inning at the ML level. Forgetting W-L record, he was even better in 2015 virtually across the board. It's easy to say a pitcher looks good when he pitches well, but at times, Gibson has looked borderline dominant. He may never be the stud SP we originally hoped for, but he's quality, and still has room for improvement. From there, it's an "I don't know" situation. Nolasco has been OK, better than he's been, but not part of the future of this team. Hughes has clearly disappointed thus far. Milone is not the answer or part of the future either. But having 4 SP pitchers in place, 3 of them young, is a really nice start. Is this where we begin the May arguement again? Or does Meyer, despite a recent but of reportedly mild shoulder soreness, get in a groove again at Rochester and take the 5th SP spot a few weeks from now? Is it possible Wheeler is this year's version of Duffey? In a seemingly lost season, looking for the positives, I feel Santana, Duffey, Berrios and Gibson when healthy again, start to make this rotation look like something we can get behind. Thoughts?

If anyone hasnt clicked on those 2 links a d read them, you are doing yourself a real disservice. One of the things about baseball that has always intrigued me...sometimes baffled me...is how the game is so lacking in the pure physicality and physical predictability of other sports. In the NBA, the game is played differently than the college game. Draftable prospects are rated more on pure physical ability, often, than pure numbers, and projectability. The smart, tenacious shooter but more limited athlete often doesn't make it, or must be content as a role player. In the NFL, size, strength, speed and explosion are valued greatly as the game is, obviously, very physical in nature. That's not to say there isn't technique and smarts involved, but many times pure physical ability can compensate. You can teach tecnique, but you can't teach speed. And players can get bigger and stronger through hard work. In baseball, how many times does a top 4 or 5 tool prospect just never get the fine points of the game and washes out, but a "lesser" gifted prospect just knows how to hit, field and play the game? How many times do we see the top pitching prospect with the big fastball never learn control, never refine other pitches, or just never grasp the sequence of pitching? But then there is that guy who seems to have more average stuff, but knows how to use it, and has a "feel" for setting up hitters and hitting his spots. Duffey is that kind of guy. Not to say he doesn't have decent stuff, but he was never rated as a top prospect or can't miss arm. What he does have is solid control, great mound presence, and a great feel for pitching. The above mentioned articles go in to all of that very well. It's hard to say what happened to him in ST...trying too hard, not getting an initial feel for his pitches, or spending too much time working on his change...but since he's been up, he looks just like the guy we saw last season. And while an at least decent change would make him that much more effective, again referencing the details in the listed links, he really does throw 2 very different fastballs, and 2 very different curveballs, one of them a big hook, the other almost a slider. I am just so impressed by this kid! Give the Twins scouts and milb pitching coaches credit where credit is due, but this is one of those wonderfully rare times when you also just get lucky with a prospect.

I could only host a game thread if I couldn't watch the game. They always lose when I watch. Come to think of it, they aren't winning much when I don't watch. Hey! Maybe I'm not the problem after all!

Yes to trading Plouffe. I'm still not certain on Dozier, but I've been warming to it. The problem with your middle infield is were still not sure what we have in Polanco. I really like his potential, he needs to play, and he should be playing. If he could actually play SS, that would be great. Further, if he moves to 2B, we still have Escobar and Nunez for SS and utility, (also Santana to fit in here and there) I'm just nervous about trading Dozier until we actually get to see more of Polanco at the ML level. If Ryan doesn't retire, or get "urged" to retire, I like the idea of a baseball executive above him to oversee things. Which is why I wouldn't fire any coaches right away. Let this overseer make those decisions. But I'm not sure I see this happening. I think it would be more likely the Twins ownership would dismiss TR, or urge his stepping down, rather than place someone above him.

And the rebuild commences! *sarcasm alert*

The value of what we have to sell is yet to be determined based on their individual productions, as well as other team's needs or unforseen urgencies. But I would think a decent catching prospect, or possibly even a solid veteran bench catcher to supplant Suzuki wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. Especially if he can hit from the left side. Nothing wrong with another quality bullpen arm that is proven or a strong up and comer. Again, especially if he throws from the left side. Why not just a good, solid, all around spare part OF that hits righty to help the bench?

Great article...which I stated in the original blog posting...and some great points made here. I also agree Arcia should be kept. I also like Rosario going down for a while. It's best for he and the Twins both in the long run. Dozier has been hitting better. Dozier is a really nice ballplayer despite some streaky-ness. (there have been endless debates here on TD about how pronounced his split seasons have truly been-don't need to rehash) And I don't know that trading Dozier is part of the solution. But then again, if he could bring in, or help bring in, a ballplayer of value, and with Polanco's potential, I could see doing it. What stinks is, despite some losing and disappointing seasons, despite this horrific start to this season, we really need patience right now. We need patience for Rosario, Buxton, Kepler, Meyer, Chargois, etc to get some more time in. I like July 1st as a good target date for promotions. However, the FO has to eat some money, toss in a lower level prospect or two, but do what is necessary to create the roster openings for these youngsters.

Smart post. As usual. Going to disagree with a few of your points, however. I would play Arcia, absolutely. The problem is playing him simultaneously with Sano in the OF. Ugh! But we are way past the point of "what the FO SHOULD HAVE DONE in the offseason". But I don't know that I'd trade him. Let's say by August we have Buxton, Kepler and maybe Rosario in the OF. You have 3 young, talented OF who can play all 3 OF spots, and potentially, offer good to excellent defense. (I know Rosario is struggling, but it doesn't diminish he ability or potential) There is still room for a successful Arcia as a corner OF/DH. I wouldn't trade Polanco either. I don't know if there is a prospect in the Twins system that has been more poorly handled than Polanco. This kid has some tremendous potential as a hitter, and the athleticism to play quality defense SOMEWHERE, even if it's not at SS. But milb errors are not always an indication of ability or potential. He should be playing EVERY SINGLE DAY at SS or 2B. Let him learn, grow, and see what you have. I'm not advocating a trade of Dozief, who I like a ton, has started to rebound, and I believe is still a quality ballplayer. But maybe, his trade could be smart for the future of the team with Polanco taking over if he just can't handle SS daily. Rosario should go down for a time. But what are your options at this time if you are smart and give Buxton and Kepler at Rochester for another month or so? (Which you should do) You start Arcia and Sano and Santana with Mastroianni off the bench? Do you put Nunez in the OF? Or Polanco, which would be a huge mistake? Ugh! I do think Meyer and Chargois should be brought up. But, getting real for a moment, no matter how talented Shaggy is, or how good he's looked thus far, he's missed almost two full seasons before this one. I think you just have to give him some AAA time before you bring him up. Meyer? OMG, the second worse treated prospect in the system. He absolutely should have had a 2014 September promotion. (Not sure it would have affected his disappointing 2015 season or not) But after a really nice and encouragING start to the season, the Twins have handled him horribly with his splinter bench time and quick hook in his only start after bringing out the tweezers. I have even advocated a 6 man rotation, including May, and how it could be done, but at this point, he needs to be allowed to succeed at Rochester again. Lastly, Hughes to the bullpen and Nolasco gone via any way possible. (Unless you would move him to the pen as well) What really stinks is, Hughes and Nolasco to the bullpen would be a huge waste of tied up contracts...BUT...if the two of them would embrace the opportunity, they could both, potentially, do very well there. Oh, put Sano at 3B permanently! Let him grow, learn and adjust. He CAN play the position. And he will only get better. He doesn't have to be a Gold Glover to be an asset there.

Wow! Totally forgot about Brad Havens. Probably with good reason. Lol

An interesting idea to take a poor season, step back for a moment from all the other more immediate discussions, to offer up a darkly interesting and somewhat humorous post. Being 50, and a Twins follower for 45 years, I will have to reflect back and possibly offer up some aditiiona options, but two come to mind immediately: I know you said no RP at this point, but Ron Davis in 1984 with 14 blown saves would have to be the choice there...probably. Terry Felton, in 1982, WAS a SP, but got pulled from the rotation and was moved to the bulpen. So I'm not sure exactly how you would qualify his 0-13 record...SP or RP.

Two points here, figuring Nolasco gone and Hughes to the pen. (Or Nolasco also the pen???) 1} Various injuries could make a 6 man rotation option...Santana, Gibson, May, Duffey, Berrios and Meyer...a 5 man rotation very quickly. 2} Even if everyone is healthh, why not a 6 man rotation at this point? Look, it's pretty much a lost season at this point. The goaL should be trying to finish .500, if even remotely possible, by putting the best players in positions to succeed, and prepare for 2017, and the next year, and the years after that. I'm not quite certain how the Twins run their 6 man rotations in A ball. But there are two ways to accomplish this. One is a straight 6 man rotation. No mystery there. The other is to stick with 6 guys forming a standard 5 man rotation, but each starter...in theory...skips every "6th start" by getting their bullpens in, a d being available for a few days, or a week depending on the schedule, to get their work out of the pen. Then they slide back in to the rotation for 5 starts, and the next man up slides down. Milb is about development and the ML are supposed to be about production. But if you have a lost season, why not develop your future at the ML level?

A very interesting article. To be honest, no offense Seth, but the comments left here are even more interesting and pointed than the article itself. And I believe Seth is correct, and I don't think he is correct with any sort of excuses or Twins optomism. He clearly states in the last line that the plan hasn't worked to this point. Bingo. IMO, Ryan's plan began with two key points: 1} Try to keep the team afloat, if possible, by trying to maintain some of the Metrodome days. That is, try to assemble a team that could compete on a budget. Some call it dumpster diving. But point #2...which I will get to in a moment...was going to take time. In the meantime, he was hoping for some short term and limited contracts to assemble teams that wouldn't stink, and offer at least some optomism for the fans and put butts in the Target Field seats. And if we're being totally honest, in years past, TR did find some nice pieces to help make teams work. Of course, this plan failed pretty miserably with 4 90 loss seasons. But again, to be fair, and I know it's an old and tired refrain, but one season was washed out due to injury, and the next was a tweaked roster that most felt had a run in it. 2} Ryan was clearly looking to rebuild the milb system, as Seth stated, and is so clearly obvious that we all know it to be true. NOTE: I am not referencing questionable use of young players coming up and not playing, or sticking around long enough. And for the most part, this has been successful. The Twins have a deep and talented farm system. There has been a change to power arms, and some interesting statistics from last year...no, I don't have them readily available...was that virtually all 4 full season milb pitching staffs ranked at or near the top of their leagues in SO and quality starts, along with other quality numbers/rankings. But the problem is, no matter how badly we all want these young prospects up and playing, they absolutely need milb time and experience to hone their skills until they are ready. And even then, it's not unexpected to see growing pains. And while it is not an excuse, when your top two prospects, two of the best in all of baseball, miss a full season or most of one, it sets the timetable back. Where the mistake was made, again in IMO, was banking too quickly on these youngsters. The prime examples being CF and the bullpen. Hicks may have been an athletic talent that was never going to work, we may never know, but to bank on him jumping from AA as a still raw talent straight to the ML was a huge miss of the dartboard. Worse, there was no other viable option. And this error has continued for 3 seasons now! Same with the pen, for the past 2 seasons, where Ryan tried to get cute, find needles in the haystack...which he had done in the past...and bank on his young RP power arms to begin to contribute. But again, it was a short-sighted and long shot gamble. I don't know if he was impatient or out foxed himself, but again, incorrect and short-sighted. It would be trite and somewhat inaccurate to simply say, "better late than never" in regard to the recent moves to shuffle the roster. The experiences of 2014 and 2015 should have brought about a plan of attack that, right now, just looks like a hot mess: * No return of the talented May to the rotation to see what he could truly be capable of because... * No quality bullpen acquisitions to allow May to move, and protect against Perkins and Jepsen regressing. * No CF option as a fall back to allow Buxton more time. * No decent, veteran OF signed...and there many possibilities available...to work with Arcia, protect regression from Rosario, and offer up options for the Sano OF experiment, especially since he has shown he can play 3B. So now we have a team that simply doesn't mesh or work well together. This team is a mix of youth and experience to be sure. And what is so damn frustrating is that, for the most part, neither the young players or the veterans are performing. This team for 2016 was not expected to be world beaters. And there were gross mistakes of inactivity that did/didn't take place. Even still, this team just shouldn't be this bad! As Linus stated early in this thread, any age factor is overblown. A quality, competitive team is desired. And if this team was 10 games over .500 with a primary core of 30-33 yo players, nobody would care, and we'd have a whole lot less to talk about. No, the problem isn't age. The problem is getting from point A to point B...or 1 to 2...without a stable, planned bridge to get there. Right now, the Twins are crossing over a vine and rotted wood bridge that you would see in an Indiana Jones movie.

1) Hughes to the pen absolutely. Nolasco gone in whatever manner works best, hopefully with a small return at least. I'd keep Santana for now, and think you'd have to. Despite his successful and solid career, I just don't know that his contract is tradeable at this point. I'm not saying don't trade him, just not sure you can. Duffey and Berrios stay in the rotation and are joined by May and/or Meyer. (Assuming the good Meyer that began the season keeps performing that way) 2) Beresford deserved his first cup of Joe last year. But I don't think he brings any real value over Nunez, who is solid, not old, and won't bring back a big return. Can Polanco play an adequate SS or not? Time to find out! We have solid, move able options in the infield. If SS doesn't look good, are we a better team with Polanco at 2B than Dozier? I just don't have the answer to that one. 3) Time for Plouffe to be moved somewhere, for something. It's not about a big return, it's clearing necessary space for Sano to go back to 3B. You know, his natural position that he plays OK and will get better at 4) Buxton and Kepler eventually, but not yet. July maybe? Play Arcia, see what you've got now that he's working harder than before and seems to be maturing. Yes to sending Rosario down, but there's really nobody to replace him at the moment. 5) I still believe Suzuki may be moved for a bag of balls and some bubblegum at some point to a team that has an injury/depth issue. Regardless, hope Murphy gets it together and then get him in the lineup and STARTING. 6) I just don't about the bullpen. Would Jepsen have any value at this point? Would Abad bring enough in return to make it pay off to trade him? Or is here valuable being kept. I guess, roll with Hughes and everyone else currently in place for the next month or so. By then, Chargois will hopefully be ready, perhaps someone else. And who knows, maybe we actually pick up a useful arm from one of the trades mentioned.